In the closing stages of the Singapore Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso found himself in a heated exchange with former teammate and arch-rival Lewis Hamilton. The Brit, initially battling with Kimi Antonelli for fifth place, fell back to P7 due to brake issues. He managed to keep Alonso at bay, but had to veer off the track multiple times to spare his Ferrari. After the race, the Spaniard expressed his frustration over the team radio.
“I can’t f*cking believe it,” Alonso shouted at race engineer Andrew Vizard. “I can’t f*cking believe it. Isn’t it unsafe to drive without brakes?” he asked angrily. “I should have been in f*cking P7, he (Hamilton) can’t race like this, can he?” Alonso argued. “Yesterday they were already ignoring red flags, and today they’re allowed to use the whole track. Isn’t that going too far?”
‘You can’t drive in an unsafe car’
Vizard reported that Hamilton had veered off the track a total of four times. “You should get at least five seconds for that,” Alonso fumed. “You can’t drive in an unsafe car. They once tried to disqualify me for driving without a mirror, but driving without brakes is okay? I doubt it,” he concluded irritably. The stewards eventually sided with the Spaniard; Hamilton received a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits, which ultimately placed Alonso in P7.
The two-time world champion was also awarded the title of Driver of the Day. This somewhat surprised him. “It’s a miracle, because normally no one watches our races,” he joked with ESPN. “Sometimes we start in twentieth place and drive all the way up to P6, and then this title still goes to someone who falls from P1 to P3. So yes, it really doesn’t make any sense.”
